He’s not really one to focus on his opponents, Michael van Gerwen.
‘I didn’t watch it, so I don’t know,’ he says of the recent Players Championship finals – the Green Machine absent after he failed to qualify due to problems, as he puts it, ‘on and off the oche’.
Still, as a three-time world champion and former world No1, who are we to argue about what a man who has made millions playing this sport wants to do in his free time?
That tournament was won by, you guessed it, Luke Littler, as the 18-year-old continues his quest for world domination, if he hasn’t already achieved it.
Van Gerwen’s major dip in form can at least partly be explained by his separation from his wife, Daphne, after more than 10 years of marriage. The couple have two children together – Mike and Zoe – and the Dutchman spent a period of time away from the oche earlier this year as he attempted to adapt to his new life.
But, as is the harsh reality, top level sport waits for no one. The World Championship is here – a tournament van Gerwen knows all too well – and it is now time to do or die.
Michael van Gerwen isn’t worried about the success of Luke Littler and Luke Humphries
He is looking to bounce back from his personal struggles – including separating from his wife, Daphne (left)
‘I’m feeling alright,’ van Gerwen exclusively tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘We know the draw, we know the day we are going to play, and we can prepare. I am looking forward to it.
‘It is of course different this year. I have had a tough year and I have to adjust myself. But that is part of how life sometimes goes.
‘To adjust is not that easy. You have to balance your life again, and you go through a new phase, but that’s the way it is.’
Van Gerwen will kick off what he hopes will be a lengthy campaign against Thursday December 18, when he will take on Japan’s Mitsuhiko Tatsunami, seven days on from the curtain raiser.
Defending champions and heavy favourite Littler was , following tradition, be in action in the first session, getting his defence underway with a comfortable win over Darius Labanauskas at Alexandra Palace.
Most fans are waiting in anticipation, expecting a Luke vs Luke final, as has been the way on a number of occasions surrounding Littler and Humphries recently. 2024 champion Humphries started with a win over Ted Evetts on Saturday night.
They are the world Nos1 and 2, the two players to beat, and almost everyone is expecting one of them to be lifting the Sid Waddell trophy come January 3.
But van Gerwen wants a say. He’s won this title three times before, and, if the rankings are anything to go by, he is next in line at No3.
The Green Machine has insisted he is ‘not jealous of anyone’, despite Luke Humphries (left) and Luke Littler (right) enjoying vast success of late
Van Gerwen is a three-time champion in his own right and believes he can win the title again
There’s no ill feeling towards the two Lukes, though – who have arguably knocked the Dutchman off his perch in the last two years – or no real feelings at all.
Darts is a solo game, and sometimes a lonely game. Only one person can make the difference – and that is the person on the stage.
‘I’m not jealous of anyone,’ van Gerwen adds, shaking his head. ‘I have been there, I have done it.
‘For me, it is more important what you want to do. You have to face it, you have to battle hard. I still love what I do, and that is still the most important thing, I think.
‘I know exactly where I am standing, I know there is still more in the tank but I have to show it on a more regular basis.
‘My aim is of course to win it. It always is, it always has to be. I’m a winner, I’m not a loser.’
A winner for sure – his 67 televised titles prove that. But he has not won the big one since 2019 and his form, to be frank, has fallen off a cliff. What a great time this would be for it to climb back up.
